Adjustable fastener for wreath frames and easels



March 24, 'l936.- c, AUGHTRY 2,035,283

I ADJUSTABLE FASTENER FOR WREATH FRAMES AND EASELS Filed July 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l March 24, 1936. R. c. AUGHTRY ADJUSTABLE FASTENER FOR WREATH FRAMES AND EASELS Filed July 26, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 irrae/veY Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES ADJUSTABLE FASTENER FOR WREATH FRAIWES AND EASELS Robert 0. Aughtry, Haskell, Tex. Application July 26, 1934, Serial No. 737,092

2 Claims.

This invention relates to methods and devices for fastening floral wreaths and wreath frames to any conventional form of supporting easel. Floral wreaths as commonly made up at the present time consist of an open wire framework packed with some special form of moss as a filler, and upon which frame as a base the flowers are mounted for completing the wreath. The wreath frame is then secured to the easel by means of pieces of wire which are extended around the vrires of the frame and the legs of the easel and then twisted together at their ends. This method of mounting the frames upon the easels is necessarily tedious and more or less unsatisfactory, as will be readily apparent.

The primary object of the present invention therefore is to provide a simple, practicable and adjustable form of fastener for releasably secur ing such wreath frames to their easels, and which may be adapted for use upon various styles and makes of wooden or iron easels, having either round or square legs, or upon easels constructed of heavy wire. Another object is to provide various forms of adjustable hooks or fasteners, all operating upon the principle of slidably and frictionally engaging the legs of the easels, for

mounting upon easels of various kinds, the said fasteners being thus rendered efiicient for quickly and firmly securing the wreath frames to the said easels.

With the foregoing objects and advantages in view, together with such additional advantages as may appear from the following specification, attention is now directed to the accompanying drawings as setting forth certain preferred embodirnents of my invention, the said drawings constituting a part of the specification, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a frontal elevation of a wreath frame as secured upon a conventional form of easel thru the employment of a form of fastener constructed in accordance with this invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the assembly of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail of the form of fastener employed in Figures 1 and 2, the same being shown as mounted upon a fragment of a round, iron or wire easel leg, the same representing the form of the fastener well adapted for use at the lower side of the wreath frame.

Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Figure 3, the same representing the form of fastener adapted for use at the upper side of the wreath frame, oomplementarily to the lower fastener of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a View similar to that of Figure 3,

the fastener being shown as formed for mounting upon a squared wooden leg of an easel. Figure 6 is a frontal elevation of an easel having legs longitudinally slotted, and having fa,- wreath frame mounted thereupon by means of a modified form of fastener adapted to co-operate with said slots, the wreath frame being represented in dotted lines.

Figure 7 is an enlarged section on the line 1-1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail in side elevation of the same modification of the fastener represented in Figures 6 and 7.

Figure 9 is an enlarged side elevation of still another modified form of fastener as mounted upon a round wooden leg of an easel, a fragment of the latter being shown.

Figure 10 is a top plan View of the assembly of Figure 9, the easel leg being shown in section.

Two conventional forms of floral easels are represented in Figures 1, 2 and 6, and therein referred to generally at A and B. Each includes two frontal legs AI and BI pivotally connected at their upper ends to the rear legs A2 and B2, these connections being made in any conventional manner, such as indicated at A3 and B3. The legs of such easels are commonly made of heavy wire, as represented at Al-AZ in the Figures 1 to 4, in which case they are of course round in cross section, or they may be made of Wood and round in cross section, as represented at Bl-B2 in Figures 6 to 8, or they may be of Wood and square in cross section, as represented at C1 in Figure 5.

The-present invention comprises various forms of adjustable fasteners Illa-l la of Figures 1 to 4, lOb-I lb of Figures 6 to 8, He of Figure 5, and lld of Figures 9 and .10, all formed with loops, rings or spanner portions designed to slidab-ly and frictionally engage the legs of the easels, whatever may be the form of those legs.

In the forms shown in Figures 1 to 4 the fasteners are made of wire and include the ring or spanner portions Ho and the hook portions l3a, the spanner portions or rings being adapted to loosely encircle the frontal legs Al of the easel A. In the use of this form of fastener, two pairs of fasteners are mounted upon the frontal legs of the easel, one pair Illa being disposed upwardly upon the legs and with the hooks turned upwardly, and the other pair Ila being disposed downwardly upon the same legs and with the hooks turned downwardly, all as clearly shown in Figures l and 2. The wreath frame E is then suspended from the upper pair of hooks by merely engaging certain wires of the frame therewith, as represented at Ma, after which the lower hooks are likewise brought into engagement with the frame, as represented at I541. The lower hooks Ha are then pressed downwardly, slidably over the legs of the easel for the purpose of tensioning the frame and firmly supporting same between the upper and lower sets of hooks. In this operation the looseness of the encircling rings upon the easel legs readily allow them to slip over the legs when the planes of the rings are positioned perpendicularly to the axes of the legs; however, when the adjustment is completed and the rings released, they frictionally pinch and bind upon the legs, and any reverse movement or slippage of the fasteners is prevented thru this pinching action of the rings upon the legs under the strain imposed thru the original tensioning of the wreath frame.

In order to facilitate downward pressure upon the lower fasteners I la, handles lBa may be extended rearwardly therefrom, and as these handles are pressed down, the hooks l3a being engaged by the wreath frame, it is obvious that the rings to which the handles are attached, will be forced down angularly on the ease] legs with the portions next to the handles most depressed, and thus positioned to instantly frictionally lock themselves upon the legs'when pressure is removed from the said handles.

The modified form of fasteners I b-l lb shown in Figures 6 to 8, are designed for use upon a form of easel B having legs Bl which are provided with the upper' and lower pairs of longitudinally extended slots B4. In lieu of the ring portions In of the previous form, the fasteners here shown are formed with spaced stops IZb adapted to pass freely thru the slots of the legs when turned into registry therewith for that purpose. When this is done the stops are turned perpendicularly to the slots, thus spanning the legs at either side thereof, where they function for frictionally gripping the legs of the easel in a manner exactly similar to the rings of the form previously described. Thus this form of the fasteners may be readily mounted upon the legs Bl thru the slots B4.

In the remaining modified form of the fasteners lld as shown in Figures 9 and 10, the spanner portions of the fasteners are formed into loops lZd, open at one side as shown, and thru which side the leg DI of the easel may be inserted in locating these fasteners upon the easel. The operation and function of this form of the fastener are the same as for the other forms shown.

The structures shown in Figure conform substantially tothose of the other views and already described, the only difference being that the spanner element I is formed square for engaging the squared leg CI of the easel here represented.

It will be understood that in positioning the upper pair of fasteners upon the easel legs, the weight of the wreath frame imposed upon them will operate to tilt the hooks downwardly and so result in the spanner portions pinching the legs and frictionally maintaining themselves in place while the lower fasteners are being adjusted in manner already pointed out. It will therefore be obvious that the gripping action of both the upper and lower sets of the fasteners is due to the tilt or angularity imparted to them thru the weight and strain of the wreath frame upon the hooks of the fasteners. Thus it will be seen that I have here shown and described a very simple and effective means for quickly and securely mounting wreath frames u-pon easels of various kinds, and it is obvious that the frames may be as easily adjusted or removed whenever desired;

and while I have herein shown and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, together with certain structural features well adapted to carry out the purposes thereof, it is understood that I am not to be limited to the several features or structures shown, but that I may vary same as may be found expedient in practice, not departing however from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim: a

1. In a device of the kind described for fastening a wreath frame upon an easel having a supporting leg, the combination of a spanner element in the form of an open loop adapted to engage the leg of the easel thru its open side, means on the spanner for engaging a wreath frame, and a handle extended oppositely to the said wreath frame engaging means,

2. A pair of fasteners for securing a wreath frame upon an easel having legs, the fasteners including spanner portions having inside diam eters greater than the diameters of the legs and thus adapted for loosely and slidably engaging the legs of the easel when turned right angularly thereto and for frictionally locking upon those legs when tilted out of said right angular relation-to the legs, whereby the fasteners when engaging opposite portions of the wreath frame and correspondingly spaced portions of the legs of the easel, may be drawn taut against the contrary strain of the wreath frame and may be tensioned against against each other to tilt them out of their right angular relation to the legs of the easel, for frictionally locking them to the legs in any desired adjusted position, said fasteners having handles extended therefrom for facilitating the tilting and adjustment of same.

ROBERT C. AUGHTRY. 

